Description
Treaty # by Armand Garnet Ruffo, Ojibwe, is a collection of poems arranged in three parts: Impetus Ungainly, Travelogue Sightline and Boreal Investigative. Each part uses poetry to address historical and contemporary moments broadly related to treaties and inspired by the author's many experiences and writing contexts. Impetus Ungainly, Treaty No.9, begins with a poem, Doctrine of Discovery but with a twist. The Claim, #1: Red Space, #2: White Space, Material World and Red is a Poem are some of the poems in part one. Part two, Treaty No.1, includes Why Don’t You Write, Pauline Johnson’s Dress, 1892 and Terra Nullius Lingus, and finds inspiration in travel and travel stories. Part three Boreal Investigative, Treaty No.5, presents poems such as First Words, Congregation and Treaty Letter, Nanabozhoo and A Wise Man Once Told Me. Acknowledgements, Notes on the poems complete this collection. Shortlisted for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry.